


Gingersnaps and Snowy Nights

by LacePendragon



Category: RWBY
Genre: Ableism, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Coming Out, Family Drama, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Holiday Fics 2019, Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-23 02:33:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21312727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LacePendragon/pseuds/LacePendragon
Summary: Roman and Junior have been together for two and a half years, but Roman has yet to meet Junior’s family – his parents, his five older siblings, and all their spouses and kids. So, this year for Christmas, Roman and Neo are going home with Junior and the twins for the holidays, but Roman isn’t sure how it’s going to go, or how he's going to fit into Junior hetero-normative family.Between misunderstandings, stereotypes, not-so-subtle homophobia, well-meaning ableism, and his own hang-ups, this might end up being the worst holiday yet. And that’s if he even manages to stay until Christmas.But it means the world to Junior, so he tries. He can fit in with a gender normative working class family for a week.…Right?
Relationships: Junior/Roman Torchwick
Comments: 14
Kudos: 29





	1. The Invitation

**Author's Note:**

> I started this fic in July of _2016_. I think it's about time I posted it, don't you?
> 
> Junior's family was made with the help of a friend, and I thank her for all her help with it.
> 
> Functionally, this is meant to be a relatively short (7 chapters, ~3k each = about 21k) holiday story about Junior and Roman trying to fit into Junior's largely cisnormative, heteronormative, working class family. It's about acceptance, about standing up for yourself, and about how hard it is to constantly fight to be seen as a person, instead of a stereotype.
> 
> Ultimately, it does have a happy ending, but it might take a little bit of work to get there.
> 
> Enjoy!

Roman leaned forward on his dresser, hip propped against the wooden edge as he carefully evened out the liner on his left eye. He was working with just a gel today and it made tight lining nearly impossible. He’d always preferred liquid for getting liner between his eyelashes, but he’d broken the last liquid eyeliner he had the night before. Ruined a perfectly good pair of pants to boot.

But, he supposed that was the price he paid for teasing Junior next to his dresser full of make-up. When Junior has hoisted him up onto it, Roman had landed on his eyeliner, ruining it, his pants, and the mood in one fell swoop.

Honestly, Roman wasn’t sure what the bigger loss had been last night.

Pressing his lips tightly together, Roman pulled the brush back from his lids and tilted his head one way, then the other, carefully checking the evenness of his lines. Satisfied, he recapped the gel and cleaned off his brush, reminding himself to double check where his other thin tipped brush had disappeared to. It had been missing for a couple days now, and honestly, it was starting to get ridiculous.

A soft rapping at the open bedroom door drew Roman’s attention from his make-up. He glanced over at the door, mascara in one hand, and smiled at Junior.

“Hey,” he said, voice soft. He checked the digital clock on his dresser, next to one of his little containers for make-up brushes. It was a little after nine in the morning. Outside, the sky was pale grey and clouded as it snowed, the fat flakes falling heavily into the foot of powder already on the ground.

It was a week until Christmas, and it was a picture perfect winter day.

“Hey,” said Junior, softly. “The girls are waking up. They’re just arguing over who gets to take the first bath.” Roman could almost picture that. Two tiny seven year olds – Miltia and Melanie – tag-teaming Neo, who was only five, in an effort to get the first bath of the morning. Roman figured Neo would win. She usually did. Like last week, when she’d wanted the last slice of pie.

Now _that_ had been quite the mess to clean up.

“Yeah? Everything okay?” asked Roman. His gaze flicked to Junior, half leaned against the doorframe but tense in the shoulders and down his arms. His hands were clenched against his biceps, fingers white and nailbeds red. Even his face was tense, though by the pull of Junior’s mouth, Roman figured he was trying to relax.

“I just got off the phone with Mom,” said Junior, slowly. “She wants to spend Christmas together.”

Roman frowned. Oh. Did that mean Junior and the twins weren’t going to be here for Christmas? His shoulders slumped a bit. Drat, he’d had a nice present for Junior too.

“And,” said Junior, and now he wouldn’t look at Roman either, “she wants to meet you.” Roman blinked. What? “She wants us – all five of us – to go up to hers and Dad’s for Christmas, so you can meet the whole family and we can spend the holidays together.”

Oh. That… made a touch more sense, actually.

“Oh.” Roman couldn’t quite keep the surprise out of his voice. “Uh, yeah, yeah that sounds fine.” His gaze went back to the mirror attached to the dresser. His eyeliner was even, finally, but he hadn’t finished with his mascara. It wasn’t enough to distract him from his thoughts, however.

He wanted to ask “why now”. Why this Christmas? What had changed?

Last Christmas, Junior’s father, Hei, had had a heart attack, and the Christmas before had been Roman and Junior’s first together. Maybe that was why; after all, when had the opportunity presented itself before?

“You’re sure?” asked Junior. He stepped into the room, slipping his arms around Roman’s waist. Roman shifted, fully facing Junior, and let his arms wind around Junior’s neck, leaning up on his toes to press a quick kiss to his lips.

“Yeah, positive,” said Roman. He wiggled his hips in Junior’s grip, flashing an easy smile. “You know I love being in the spotlight.” Even as he spoke the words, his voice wavered slightly. Junior frowned; Roman ducked his head.

“If you don’t want to…” Junior trailed off.

“I do,” said Roman. He rested his cheek against Junior’s shoulder, breath ghosting his throat. “I want to meet your family, baby bear, and I know you haven’t seen them in forever.”

“More like six months,” said Junior.

Roman chuckled softly, his cheek brushing Junior’s shirt. “Details,” he murmured. “You want me to handle bath time?”

“Yeah,” said Junior. “Try not to drown the kids.”

Roman snorted and shoved lightly at Junior. “Have a little faith.”

“Mm-hm,” said Junior. “Go wash the kids, I’ll make breakfast.” Roman rolled his eyes and ducked around Junior, heading to the bathroom, where he could hear Melanie and Miltia arguing with Neo’s hands.

“All right, girls,” called Roman as he stepped into the bathroom. “What’s going on?”

Melanie’s reply was quick as lightning, “Neo said that she knows how to make a perfect bubble bath and I told her that she’s too small to use the tub without adult supervision.”

_“I am not, dummy!”_ was Neo’s signed reply.

“Yes, you are! What if you fall in?” asked Melanie.

“Yeah!” said Miltia. “You could drown, Neo.”

Neo rolled her eyes so strongly that Roman wondered how she didn’t make herself dizzy. _“Nuh-uh.”_ She folded her arms and stuck out her tongue, ending her side of the argument.

Miltia and Melanie turned to Roman as one. “Dad!”

He sighed. “All right, how about I let Neo show me, but I’ll be here to make sure she doesn’t fall in. Does that work for everyone?”

Reluctant nods all around.

“Great, now let’s get you girls cleaned up. Junior’s making breakfast for all of us and we don’t want it to get cold,” said Roman.

The girls agreed, rejoicing at the sound of breakfast, and let Roman help them get them ready for bath time.

* * *

In the end, Roman probably shouldn’t have been wearing make-up to give the girls a bath, because no amount of practice or prayer could prepare him for the terror that was three kids under eight in a bathtub. Miltia and Melanie had argued over who got to play with the Barbies, Neo had covered the walls in shampoo, and Roman had come out of the bathroom just as soaked as the three of them.

“Thanks, Dad!” the twins called as they ran into their room to get dressed. Neo, dressed in her tiny brown, white, and pink checkered housecoat, waved before ducking into her own room with a slight skip. Roman slumped against the bathroom vanity and sighed, eyes closed as he combed his fingers through his wet hair.

“Which one of you took a bath?” Junior’s warm voice trickled into Roman’s ears and he opened his eyes to see Junior standing in the hallway wearing an apron, one eyebrow raised.

Roman flashed Junior a smile and pushed off the counter, swaying toward him. “You know? I was just asking myself the same thing.” He gave a shrug with both his shoulders and his hands before sliding one hand to Junior’s shoulder. “Breakfast ready?”

“Just about,” said Junior, his hands sliding around Roman’s waist. He hummed, looking over Roman’s head to the girls’ bedrooms. “Neo give you much trouble?”

“Always,” said Roman. He rested his head on Junior’s shoulder and sighed quietly. “She’s just frustrated about school.”

Junior nodded, his chin brushing Roman’s head. “Understandably so.” The two stood in silence for a minute, neither one moving or thinking. Roman just enjoyed the sound of Junior’s heart against his ear and the soft huffs of Junior’s breath against his head.

“Papa, when’s breakfast?” Melanie’s tiny voice sounded from below and Roman and Junior peeled themselves from one another to look down at her. Her long hair was still wet, though no longer dripping, and she’d put on a cute long-sleeved white dress with blue tights. Roman couldn’t help but be proud. The girls _absolutely_ got their fashion sense from him.

“As soon as everyone’s dressed,” said Junior. His gaze went to Roman, slightly amused.

Melanie nodded, then frowned up at Roman. “Does that include you, Dad?” she asked.

“I think it does,” said Roman. He slipped into his and Junior’s shared bedroom and nudged the door shut before stripping out of his clothes. He tugged on a black v-neck and a worn pair of jeans before double checking his make-up in the mirror. It had mostly survived, despite his worries, and he touched it up a bit before slipping back into the hallway to head for the dining area.

The girls were already at the table, working on colouring some flower pages. Roman thought he might have printed those off last week for them, but he wasn’t sure. Half the paper in the house was dedicated to colouring projects for the girls, and a significant portion of what was left ended up going to paper crafts.

Roman slipped into the kitchen before the girls could notice him – though he suspected Neo had seen him, she usually did – and slid up behind Junior, who was plating food.

“You should do that professionally,” said Roman, wrapping his arms around Junior. He nuzzled the man’s shoulder and hummed. “You’d look great in the uniform.”

“You and uniforms,” said Junior, drily. He set down his work and picked up the plates, turning in Roman’s loose grip. Roman took two of the offered plates and let Junior grab the other three. The two carried the plates into the dining area and were met with whoops and cheers from their girls, who eagerly dug into their French toast with syrup the moment the plates were put down.

“Still think you should do this professionally,” said Roman, taking his own seat. He snagged a knife from the centre of the table to cut his toast.

Junior raised an eyebrow as he helped Neo cut up her own French toast. “You know I own a _bar_, right? We do serve food, Roman.”

Roman stabbed a piece of toast with his fork and waved it around, just managing to miss getting syrup on himself and the table. “Not this food though, and the girls can’t come visit you.”

“It’s true, Papa,” said Melanie. “We can’t come see you at work.”

Junior grimaced and rubbed a hand over his mouth. Neo grabbed the fork from his hand and used it to skewer her breakfast. She watched them in silence, head cocked and mismatched eyes bright with curiosity.

“Girls, you should be asleep while I’m at work,” said Junior. He narrowed his eyes at them, fork on his plate. “Or has Dad been letting you stay up late again?”

“No,” sang Melanie and Miltia while Neo shook her head. Junior sighed and picked up his fork again, sliding his French toast through the puddle of syrup on his plate.

“Why don’t I believe that?” he said, glancing at Roman with a slightly amused expression. Roman shrugged, sheepish, and folded his arms behind his head, stretching languidly. “I wanted to ask the three of you something.”

“Sure,” said Melanie. Miltia and Neo both watched with curious expressions.

“You know Grandma Lin?” he asked, Melanie and Miltia both nodded, while Neo frowned, wrinkling her nose. “Well, she wants us – all of us – to go up to her and Grandpa Hei’s for Christmas this year.”

Miltia gasped and clapped her hands together while Melanie grabbed Neo’s arm and grinned, nodding vigorously.

“You mean Neo and Dad get to meet Grandma?” asked Melanie. Junior nodded. “We’ve gotta go! We’ve gotta!”

Neo shook off Melanie’s arm, still frowning, and pushed her toast around on her plate with her fork. She didn’t look at any of them, and the troubled expression on her face only grew as the seconds ticked by. Roman recognized the shadow on her face, it was similar to the one he’d had not long ago. Neo just couldn’t hide it as well.

“Hey,” said Roman. He reached across the table and rested his hand on Neo’s, completely covering it. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

Neo looked up at him, her lips pursed, and wriggled her hands free. Her fingers flipped through the air, the tap of her heart and her head betraying her question.

Simply put: did he want to go?

“I do,” said Roman. He looked to Junior, then back at Neo. “They’re family now, Neo, we should meet them. I know it was always you and me before, but you like the twins and Papa, don’t you?” Neo nodded, looking away from Roman. “I think you’ll like Lin and Hei just as well.” He tipped his head to one side, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “You know, I’ve never met them either.”

Neo’s head came up, her brow furrowing in question.

“Nope, never,” said Roman. He leaned forward in his seat, propping his elbows on the table and his chin on the backs of his hands. “And I’m pretty scared to meet them. I don’t want to do it all alone.” He offered Neo a little smile. “So will you come, just so I don’t have to meet them all by myself?”

Neo looked thoughtful, her mismatched gaze going to the ceiling. After a moment, she nodded and held out her hand for a tiny high five, which Roman happily returned.

“Well, all right!” said Roman, grinning. “So, let’s eat up and get packing, we’ve got more Christmas shopping to do.”

The five went back to their breakfasts, chatting about the trip and the shopping they still needed to do. Halfway through breakfast, Roman hooked his ankle around Junior’s and smiled at him. Junior smiled back and they returned to listening to Melanie regale them with a story about a bog monster in the toilet last night.

* * *

It was early evening before Roman got a chance to pack. He, Junior, and the girls would be headed out tomorrow morning around ten for the two-and-a-half hour drive. He’d already packed children’s Gravol, just in case one of the girls started feeling sick, as well as a few other things he figured he’d need for the week they’d be at Junior’s mom and dad’s.

Between shopping for presents and keeping the girls in check at the mall, Roman had scarcely had a moment to himself all day. His thoughts had been held at bay by constant movement and discussion, but now, alone in the bedroom with nothing but his clothes and his thoughts, every doubt he’d had from that morning returned.

What if Junior’s parents didn’t like Roman? He wasn’t exactly the most normal guy, after all. He was flamboyant, loud, and more than a little dramatic. Hell, even his job was flamboyant: he was manager at a very upscale salon, and that usually meant him doing the hair and nails of the upper-class.

And if that wasn’t enough, Roman had seen pictures of Junior’s family and his myriad of siblings. His older brothers – the oldest, then the twins – and his two older sisters. Junior was the youngest in his family by a little over two years (hence his name) and despite the wonderful opportunity his nickname provided, he wasn’t the biggest in his family either. His oldest brother was bigger and his father was about the same size, the others were all smaller, either by an inch or by a foot.

He’d be dwarfed by most of the men in that family, and while he was taller than Junior’s mom and sisters, he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. It left him in a weird in-between where he wasn’t sure which part of the family he belonged to. Or if he belonged at all.

As if driven by his thoughts, Roman’s gaze slid over to his make-up, tucked into its corners and laid out in nice lines on his dresser. He pressed his lips together and swallowed hard, his heart beating fast in his chest. Slowly, his gaze trailed up to the mirror. Concealer, eyeliner, mascara. All noticeable, all staples of his daily routine. He’d worn all three for years, even before he’d met Junior, and Junior had never minded. Hell, he even listened to Roman ramble on about make-up, just as Roman listened to him talk about drinks.

Should he bring the make-up with him? It was part of who he was. Part of how he presented himself to the world. Bold, beautiful, and ready for anything. Hell, he even wore it during work, which was probably the most normalized place he could wear it.

You didn’t question the man doing your nails if his were impeccable, after all.

“Roman?” Roman looked away from the mirror and toward the door where, for the second time that day, Junior stood leaning in the door frame. “Everything all right?”

Roman managed a nod, swallowing hard. He didn’t say anything for a minute, just kept folding and unfolding his socks instead of packing them.

Junior crossed the room and rested his hands on Roman’s shoulders from behind before sliding his hands down Roman’s back. He pressed light kisses to Roman’s neck and jaw, his hands sliding around Roman’s hips to hug him close. Roman tilted his head into the gesture and hummed, eyes fluttering closed as he leaned back into Junior’s embrace.

“Talk to me, Ro,” murmured Junior in his ear.

Roman sighed, not bothering to open his eyes. “Do you think they’ll like me?” he asked.

“My family?”

Roman nodded slightly. He swallowed hard and curled himself deeper into Junior’s hug, his hands resting atop Junior’s. Here, in the quiet of their bedroom, Roman never worried about who he was or how he interacted with the world. He was himself, unashamedly. And so often out in the world he was as well. In the bar, picking the girls up from school, doing his job – he was always himself.

But now? Now he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to be.

“Of course,” said Junior. “Why wouldn’t they?”

“I’m not exactly like your family, baby bear,” murmured Roman. The arms around Roman slid back to his hips and turned him around. Roman let them and wound his arms around Junior’s neck, resting his head on Junior’s shoulder. He sighed, soft and frustrated all at once. “I just don’t want them to think you’re weird.”

“They’ll like you,” said Junior. “Why wouldn’t they?”

Because he was flamboyant. Because he wore make-up. Because he could walk in high heels as well as any woman. Because he said what he meant and never turned off his sarcasm or sass. Because he was the only _man_ another man was bringing home for the holidays. Because Junior was the only openly queer person in his family.

Because he wasn’t Chinese. Because he didn’t have a family outside of the one in this home. Because a thousand different reasons that Roman could scarcely put a name to.

“I don’t know,” said Roman, instead of everything else that clung to his tongue. He hesitated for a moment, then, “Can we get some sleep? I’ll finish packing tomorrow morning.”

Junior released Roman with a kiss on his forehead and nodded. “Sure. Let me go brush my teeth.” He left the room and Roman slumped against the bed, head in his hands. He resolved, then and there, to leave his make-up behind.

He wouldn’t do anything to screw up Junior’s relationship with his family. He could be like everyone else, like a regular blue collar guy, for a week. No big deal.

Or at least, that’s what he kept telling himself.


	2. The Arrival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two in one day?
> 
> Why not.

For all Junior’s talk about being independent and away from his family, he certainly didn’t live far from them. The drive to Junior’s home town, which they did the following afternoon, and his childhood home, was only two-and-a-half hours with winter weather and holiday traffic, and it left Roman wondering why he hadn’t met Junior’s family before now. Sure, Christmas holidays afforded a certain festive reasoning for introducing your significant other, but surely Junior could have found a way to introduce Roman before now.

As Junior drove along the last stretch of road, perhaps thirty minutes out from his old home, Roman ran over those possibilities in his mind. Perhaps Junior just didn’t want to intrude? Maybe family matters had needed attending and significant others weren’t welcome? Or maybe Junior had simply waited to see if he and Roman were properly serious. Though, if it had taken him over two and a half years to figure that out, Roman couldn’t help but he a little bit insulted.

Then again, maybe Junior’s family just hadn’t cared. Maybe they didn’t care about significant others unless marriage was involved. Self-consciously, Roman rubbed his empty left ring finger and tried not to let it get to him. The topic of marriage had come up a few times between the two of them, especially where the girls were concerned. Both of them were agreeable to it, but both had agreed, last summer, that they simply hadn’t been together long enough.

Roman wondered how long was long enough. Three years? Five? How long before he became part of Junior’s family? And, more importantly, did Junior and his family even want Roman to be part of it?

“Junior?” asked Roman, dragging himself from his own personal pity party. “Did you tell your mom about Neo?”

Through the rear view mirror, Roman saw Neo’s head come up in her car seat. She was engrossed with something on a tablet, buckled in her car seat between Miltia and Melanie, who had only recently outgrown their own car seats.

“Yeah,” said Junior, not taking his eyes from the road. “I told her about Neo’s speaking.” Or lack thereof, so to speak, thought Roman. “She’ll be passing it along so that no one tries to force her to talk.”

“Good,” said Melanie from the back seat. “If people try, I’ll kick them in the shins.”

Miltia gasped. “That’s _rude_.”

“So’s trying to make a mute person talk,” said Melanie, slightly haughty.

“Why the shins, specifically?” asked Roman, leaning around to look at her.

Melanie gave him a flat look that Roman had only seen in a mirror beforehand. “I’m too short to kick them anywhere else, Dad.” The way she said it made Roman feel about six inches tall. He nodded, slow and amused.

“Right,” he said. “Of course.”

“We’re about twenty minutes out,” said Junior. Roman caught the slight twitch of Junior’s lips as he tried to hide his amusement at his daughter’s antics. “You girls ready to see Grandma Lin again?”

“Yeah!” cheered Melanie and Miltia. Neo pressed her lips into a thin line and Roman offered her a smile through the rear view mirror.

“Don’t worry about it, Neo, it’s my first time meeting them too,” he said. Neo nodded, though the fear was still plain in her eyes, and she went back to watching her show on the tablet. Roman frowned, looking out the window. He hoped that Neo’s fears were unfounded, but he couldn’t help but share them.

New experiences, new people, and both so different from what both of them were used to. He’d have to keep a good poker face for the next few days. He couldn’t let Neo think he was scared. It would only make her worse.

Junior took one hand off the wheel and squeezed Roman’s knee. Roman laced his fingers with Junior’s and squeezed back.

Whatever happened, they’d handle it together. That was what they did.

* * *

Roman hadn’t been sure what to expect from Junior’s childhood home, but it definitely wasn’t what he saw before him. The two storey home was massive, spreading across the plot of grass like a lumbering giant, and it sat in good repair as well. Christmas lights hung from the roof and the awnings, leaving it twinkling in the evening light, the colours brilliant and vivid against the dark expanse of the early night. A massive pine tree out front had also been partially decorated, and Roman couldn’t help but smile at the two snowmen taking a nap beneath the tree.

The five piled out of the car together, with Junior lifting up Neo and setting her down in the shovelled driveway. Neo squinted at everything, flipping her hair out of her face. The walk up to the house was short enough that Junior and Roman hadn’t bothered putting gloves or hats on the girls in the car. It was just too much hassle for thirty seconds of cold.

“All right, let’s go,” said Junior.

“Grandma Lin!” cheered Melanie and Miltia, streaking up to the house in blurs of white and red.

“Watch your step!” called Roman, taking Neo’s little hand. She smiled at him, her mismatched eyes blinking a few times in the bright winter sun, and followed him up to the house.

The door swung open as they reached the stoop – the twins bouncing, Junior loaded down with bags, and Roman still holding Neo’s hand. On the other side of the door was a woman who couldn’t have been more than sixty, though she looked much younger, with brilliant green eyes and white streaked black hair. From her appearance, it was plain to see that she was Junior’s mother, Lin, despite being smaller than even Roman.

“Girls,” said Lin, throwing her arms wide for a hug.

“Grandma!” cried the twins, leaping into her arms. They hugged her tightly, giggling all the while. “Guess what, guess what,” they said.

Lin tipped her head to one side, narrowing her green eyes, which, Roman noticed, were the exact shade as the twins’. “Did you… meet Santa Claus’ reindeer?”

“No,” said the twins.

Lin put her hands on her hips. “Well, we’ll have to fix that, won’t we?” She clapped her hands together and leaned low. “But what did you want to tell me?”

“We brought Dad and Neo!” said the twins, gesturing to Roman and Neo. “Neo’s our little sister!”

Lin smiled at Neo, who had half hidden herself behind Roman’s legs. Roman looked from Lin to Neo, not bothering to try and coax her out. If she wanted to hide, that was her business, and Roman would let her introduce herself on her own terms when she was ready. Lin frowned slightly at Roman, and he felt like she was probably expecting him to nudge Neo out from behind him. He simply rested a hand on Neo’s head and let her stay where she was.

“Hello there, Neo, I’m Grandma Lin,” said Lin. “Would you like to say hi?”

Neo frowned and stepped further behind Roman.

“Are you sure? I’d love to get to know you,” said Lin.

“Mom,” said Junior, softly. “She can’t talk, remember?”

Lin straightened up, looking a tad embarrassed. “I thought you said ‘didn’t’ on the phone.” The slight hesitation in her voice made Roman tighten his hold on Neo.

“Can’t,” said Roman. “She can’t talk. Can’t learn, either.” He knew his voice was sharper than it should have been, but he couldn’t help it. School was bad enough for Neo with everyone trying to force her into speech therapy. Roman didn’t have the energy to explain that it wasn’t a choice. The part of Neo’s brain that allowed verbal speech had never developed. She would _never_ be able to talk, and he wished more people would understand that and strive to communicate with Neo in other ways rather than try and force her to do something she simply couldn’t do.

“Of course,” said Lin. She gave an easy smile to Roman, who returned it the best he could. “So, you’re Roman.” She stepped backward, allowing the five into the house. Inside, it smelled of cinnamon and butter, alongside food that Roman recognized the smells of but couldn’t name to save his life. Rice, definitely, and beef, but not much else was distinguishable due to spices and overlapping flavours already encroaching on his tongue.

“That’s me,” said Roman, giving a little flourish. “Pleasure to meet you.” He held out his hand and she took it, giving it a quick shake.

“It is,” said Lin. She had a light accent, one that made Roman think she’d probably grown up bilingual, and, if he remembered some of his late night conversations with Junior, she’d grown up in America. Her parents had been immigrants, not her.

Junior closed the door behind them and the five started peeling off their winter clothes. Boots went first, deposited on the mats, and then Roman quickly shucked his scarf and coat before bending down to help the girls get out of their winter clothes. It wasn’t much, just coats for the run into the house. The rest was stored in their backpacks and duffel bags, which Junior lifted up as he stepped passed the four.

“Where do you want me to put these?” asked Junior.

“I set up some guest beds in your old room,” said Lin. “You can all stay in there.” She gestured toward the stairs. The banisters of which, Roman noted, were covered in pine wreaths and red ribbons. The whole house looked pretty festive, even from his current angle.

“All right, be right back,” said Junior. He headed up the stairs, the fourth step creaking, and then Roman was left alone in the hallway with a woman he didn’t know, two energetic seven-year-olds, and a nervous little girl who kept hiding behind him.

Great.

Roman offered Lin a smile, though he knew it didn’t reach his eyes, and let Lin lead him toward the living room with her quiet words and sharp eyes. The girls followed after, Melanie and Miltia chatting up a storm about this thing and that thing they did back home, while Neo clung hard to Roman’s pant leg, staying as far away from Lin and the others as she possibly could.

If she kept this up, he’d probably end up having to separate her from the others so that she could calm down. Hopefully the room they were all staying in was big enough and quiet enough to do that. He was certain he’d brought the noise cancelling headphones though, so it shouldn’t be much of a problem.

Sometimes words were just too much for Neo, and when she was this scared, Roman usually switched over to sign. He didn’t really have a way to get everyone else to do that, however. Isolation was about the only thing he could do.

In the living room, there were plenty of people that could only be Junior’s brothers and sisters, along with most of their partners and kids. A couple kids ran forward to greet Melanie and Miltia, who darted off with them a moment later.

Lin guided Roman over to where most of the adults were congregated.

“Roman, I’d like to introduce you to the family,” said Lin.

“Hey, Roman,” said a woman who definitely wasn’t one of Junior’s sisters. For one, she was black. For two, she looked nothing like him. “Good to meet you.” Roman shook her hand, smiling. “I’m Val.”

“Good to meet you too,” said Roman. He cast a look around the rest of the room and swallowed. He was surrounded, absolutely surrounded, by people who couldn’t stop staring at him. He counted, to himself, the divide of men and women.

Even, if he didn’t count himself or Lin. Every woman in the room was wearing a wedding band, including Val. And every one of them, from those who looked related to Junior to those who didn’t, all looked perfectly gender normative.

_Fantastic._

Roman swallowed hard and forced himself to smile as Lin introduced him to everyone.

“Val is Huo’s wife,” said Lin, a hand on the inside of Roman’s elbow. “Huo and Sang,” she gestured to two identical men with broad shoulders. One wore a beard. The other was clean-shaven, “are my twins.” They nodded to Roman. She gestured to a large man that may have been the only one in the room bigger than Junior was. “This is my oldest, Qing, and his wife, Biyu,” the woman, doe-eyed and lean, smiled at Roman, Qing did not, “their children are downstairs, with the rest of the kids.” Lin looked to Melanie and Miltia. “Did you girls want to go play with the others?”

They nodded, fast and enthusiastic, and turned to beam at Roman.

“Can we, Dad?” asked Melanie. A ripple rolled through the room, centered on Melanie’s words. _Dad._ Conversations stopped, murmurs whispered between others, looks were levelled at Roman. All in less than a second. He swallowed and forced himself not to acknowledge any of it, though he knew he’d stiffened.

“Sure,” said Roman. “Go, have fun.”

“You coming, Neo?” asked Miltia, holding out her hand. Roman looked down at Neo, who stared at him with wide, terrified eyes.

“It’s up to you,” he said, laying a hand atop her head. “Always.” Neo looked away, lips pressed into a thin line. Her gaze flickered around the room, before landing on the twins.

Val crouched down in front of Neo and smiled at her. “Hi there,” she said. She held out her hand. “I know it might seem scary, but I promise you that all the kids are very nice. They’re watching movies right now. I think they’re on Atlantis.” She tilted her head to one side. “I could take all three of you down, if you want.”

Neo looked from Val, to Roman, who offered her a smile, to Val again. She narrowed her eyes, then reached out and took Val’s hand. Val smiled and stood up.

“All right, girls, let’s go.” Carefully, she led the three from the room. Roman didn’t miss the way Neo looked over her shoulder, and he flipped his fingers in the air.

_“If you need me, come get me,”_ he signed. Neo nodded, then turned and left the room.

“Strange kid,” said the Qing, the oldest brother. Roman stiffened, took a breath, and forced himself to relax. If he got on the defensive early, he was just going to cause problems. “Not sure what’s stranger – that she can’t talk, or how she looks.”

Roman twitched. “She’s unique,” he said, forcing the words out as evenly as possible. “It’s part of what we love about her.”

Qing raised both of his caterpillar eyebrows at Roman. “We?” he echoed.

The sound of a creaking step hit Roman’s ears and he relaxed a half-second before Junior strode into the room. Junior smiled at everyone, drawing their attention as they called their hellos and ‘how are you’s’ and what not. Roman shuffled to the wall, sticking out of the way as he watched Junior get swept up in the family nonsense. There were stories to share and things to catch up on, and Roman was glad to have the attention off himself.

There were several couches in the room, and, after some shuffling, the Xiong twins made room for Junior on one end. Junior sat down and caught Roman’s eye, patting the small space between himself and the arm of the couch. Roman sucked in a breath through his nose, aware of the way the twins were watching him, and scooted across the room. He perched himself on the arm of the couch, not bothering to squish in next to Junior, as much as he wanted to.

Other couples were tucked together, including Qing and his wife on a loveseat, but Roman couldn’t shake the trembling in his hands at the thought of sitting pressed up against Junior in this unfamiliar place.

_Calm down,_ he told himself. _His mom wouldn’t have invited you if anyone had a problem with you._

Besides, if anyone _did_ have a problem with Junior’s sexuality, wouldn’t they be bringing it up with Junior? It seemed he’d been sucked back into the family as if he’d never left. Maybe Roman was making problems where there weren’t any.

“What ever happened to that woman you used to be with?” A woman that resembled Lin, right down to her thin shoulders and laugh lines, directed her words to Junior. “The blonde.”

Roman stiffened. Why were they bringing this up _now?_ With him _right there?_

“You mean the mother of his children?” asked Qing. He snorted, before taking a long drink out of his beer. “I don’t think our baby brother much cares for tradition, Bai.”

Roman clenched his hands and ground his teeth together, his eyes downcast. He had no idea what to do. Should he argue? Should he fight back?

Should he turn the topic off of Missy and onto himself? He was the current partner, the serious one, the one Junior was raising his children with. He’d never even met Missy. Yet it seemed the people around him, had.

“Missy and I were never serious,” came Junior’s reply, the low rumble of his voice soothing the frayed edges of Roman’s nerves. “About the only good thing that came out of that relationship was the girls.” He reached out and rested a hand on Roman’s knee, giving it a squeeze. Roman exhaled, soft and slow. “Besides, I’ve been with Roman for almost three years now. Missy’s long gone.”

Bai hummed. “Still, she was an interesting woman. Very funny.”

Conversation continued as if Roman wasn’t even there, and he glanced down at Junior to see what he thought, only to notice that Junior was talking to the twins. Roman didn’t know which was which, but they seemed to be trading off discussing college football with Junior, something Roman had never understood. He’d tried, but football just went over his head. Hockey, he understood, but he blamed that on being from Washington.

Junior’s hand left Roman’s knee so he could gesticulate better, and Roman forced himself not to react to the loss of contact. He was being ridiculous. Junior was _right there._ If Roman needed him, he could just tap him on the shoulder. It wasn’t as if Junior had let go of him because he was scared of people seeing them together.

He forced down those thoughts.

But it felt strange, to have all these conversations going and no one saying a word to Roman. He wondered if it was just an oversight, if maybe no one new had come into the family in a while. If they were used to people throwing themselves into conversations. But the comment about Missy stung, and the easy dismissal of Junior mentioning Roman stung more.

Roman listened in on the conversations around him, trying to figure out where to jump in. Half of the conversations were in Chinese – something else he should have realized. Everyone in the room, bar himself, seemed to not only be Chinese, but able to speak Chinese, at least somewhat. It left Roman’s head swimming as he caught fragments of words he only knew from spending so much time with Junior.

Granted, Junior only spoke Chinese in two contexts: to his family (kids or parents), or in _bed._ And somehow Roman didn’t think the latter would be useful, at the moment.

His gaze shifted over to Qing, who seemed to be regaling the room with a work story. From what little Roman could gather – the man shifted from Chinese to English and back again without any rhyme or reason as far as Roman could tell – he was a construction foreman and there had been some slackers. _Perfect._ Roman didn’t like to stereotype, but construction workers tended… not to be great about people like him.

Something about manliness and masculinity and all that toxic bullshit. Roman had spent years trying to understand it and only came out hating himself, so he’d tried to wipe it clean from his brain.

Qing caught him watching and narrowed his eyes, then slipped an arm around his wife and went back to his conversation. Roman frowned. _Okay_, so maybe don’t watch Qing. He could do that.

He tuned back into Junior’s conversation just in time to hear Huo or Sang start talking about high school football, which Roman knew a bit more about just because Junior had talked a lot about being on the team.

“I’m telling you, Val could have done much better than me,” said one of them – must have been Huo. “I was a horrible player. I don’t know how I ever caught her attention on the field.”

Junior snorted. “I don’t think you did,” he replied.

Sang grinned from his end of the couch. “Not like you, huh, Junior? You had the eyes of every girl there, back in high school. Best linebacker the school ever had.” He chuckled. “Had your pick of every girl in the school, back then.” Sang shook his head, looking wistful. “Man, I would have killed for that.”

Junior chuckled. “Maybe,” he agreed, “but they weren’t after me, just my status.”

“And your body,” said Val, dropping onto the other arm of the couch. “I remember you in high school. You were _built_.” She bumped shoulders with Sang. “If I hadn’t been so interested in your brother, I might have gone after you, instead.”

“Well, lucky for me, love is blind,” said Huo, drily. Val blew him a kiss across the couch. Huo rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Junior. “Seriously, man. I don’t get it. You had girls throwing themselves at your feet, but you never did anything about it. If you went out with a girl, you went _out_ with a girl, for weeks, if not months. Missy was the longest relationship you had.”

Roman frowned. No, she wasn’t. _He_ was.

“Actually, Roman is,” said Junior, gesturing to Roman. “By over six months.” Roman puffed up a bit in pride, then deflated _immediately_ when Huo shrugged off the words.

“I meant, you know…” He trailed off, obviously trying to find the right words. Roman swallowed.

“Women,” finished Sang, over his shoulder. He glanced at Roman, his gaze seemingly skittering over him before going back to Junior. Roman floundered, faltered, felt himself beginning to drown.

No, what he’d meant was _real_. Roman had seen that hesitation enough to know as much.

His mouth soured and he swallowed, but it didn’t fade.

He got to his feet and mumbled, “I need some air,” not even certain that Junior could hear him. He slipped into the hallway and turned left, away from the front door and toward the back of the house.

He pushed open a door at the end of the hallway and found himself in the kitchen slash breakfast area. There, he stumbled over to the glass doors that led out onto the deck and rested his forehead against the cool glass, taking a minute to himself.

Breathe in, hold, breathe out. Breathe in, hold, breathe out. Don’t let their words bother you. Don’t think about how easily Junior shrugged them off.

Did Junior even notice?

Roman wasn’t sure.

His breathing shuddered as tears gathered in the corners of his eyes.

_No._ He was being stupid. This was all _stupid._ He’d done nothing wrong. All he’d done was show up and exist. All he’d done was take up Lin’s invitation. He was allowed to be here. He had been _invited _to be here. If people had a problem with that, that was on _them_, not _him._

He slumped further against the door, eyes squeezing shut and fingers curling against the cold, fogging glass.

Except no, it wasn’t that simple. It never had been.

Because “allowed” and “welcome” were two very different things.

Roman heard someone coming down the hall just in time to swipe at his eyes, shake himself enough to look normal, and turn. The door opened and Junior stepped through, looking confused.

“Roman? Are you okay?” Junior’s words were soft, his brow furrowed, but the happiness of being around his family clung to him like a second skin. The lift of his shoulders, the tug of his lips, the crinkle of his eyes.

Roman nodded. “Yeah, just worn out from the drive.” It was partially true, anyway. He didn’t see any sense in talking about this with Junior. It’d only been one night, so far. He was probably just oversensitive. Not everyone was like his friends back home. He could adjust. He _had_ to adjust, for Junior’s sake.

“Okay, well, everyone is splitting off for the night, so we can head to bed soon, if you want,” said Junior.

Roman managed a small smile. “That sounds fantastic,” he replied. “Thank you.”

Junior hesitated a moment, frowning, as if he wanted to say something, ask something, but then someone called his name and he offered Roman an apologetic smile before he turned and left the kitchen.

Roman sighed and closed his eyes, counting to ten.

He was being overdramatic. It had only been _one_ day. He could handle this.

He had to handle this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are super appreciated! Thank you!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always appreciated!


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